The best computational notebooks, according to hackers
7 computational notebooks were recommended on Hacker News between November 2025 and November 2026. We rank them by how many separate people recommend each one, and 3 earn the Hacker Approved badge.
Top picks
The three most recommended computational notebooks with the badge. Each figure is 5 people. RecommendsCriticizes One comment
Plain Python files, easy version control
Free reactive Python notebook stored as plain .py files that many people use in place of Jupyter. Critics say it restricts classic notebook workflows.
Enjoyable for exploration and learning
Reactive Julia notebook that updates dependent cells automatically, keeping state consistent and pleasant for exploratory work. Critics mainly cite fixed output placement and new environments each session.
Free GPU and TPU access
Free GPU and TPU access in a hosted Jupyter notebook, handy for quick experiments and data science work. Common caveat: sessions can disconnect and setup can be slow.
All 7 computational notebooks, ranked
Select a column heading to sort. Approval share is recommenders out of everyone who gave an opinion; the tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs. Months counts the months, out of 13, in which someone recommended it.
| Rank | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jupyter Notebook | 67 | 39 | 63% | 12 | — | — |
| 2 | marimo | 53 | 7 | 88% | 11 | — | Approved |
| 3 | Pluto.jl | 21 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | Approved |
| 4 | Google Colab | 18 | 7 | 72% | 9 | — | Approved |
| 5 | Deepnote | 12 | 16 | 43% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 6 | JupyterLite | 5 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
| Tied 6 | euporie | 5 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
How we rank
Rank is the number of separate people who recommend a product in a Hacker News comment over the past year. Someone who praises the same computational notebook in five threads counts once.
The badge goes to computational notebooks that at least 10 people recommend, with recommenders outnumbering critics at least 2 to 1, recommended in at least 4 of the 13 months.
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